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The SWORD OF 
AMERICA 

A Masque of the War 



By 
WILLIAM CHAUNCY LANGDON 



Springfield Edition 
1918 






V 



\ 



Copyright. 1917. 1918, 

By William Chauncy Langdon 

All Rights Reserved 

First Edition, November, 1917 
Second Edition, March, 1918. 
Third Edition, April, 1918. 

All acting rights and motion picture rights are reserved by the author. 
Permission for performance must be secured in writing. 

Address the Author at the University of Illinois, 
Urbana, Illinois. 



MAY -4 1918 
©CLO 49464 



S\*^r* I 



THE PERSONS OF THE MASQUE 



Shadows 

Mother Nature 

Two Attendant Shadows 

America 

Britain * 

France 

Belgium 

Sacrifice 

Vision 

Farmers and Workmen 

Red Cross Doctors 

Red Cross Nurses 

Soldiers and Volunteers 



THE SWORD OF AMERICA 

A Masque of the War 



Prologue. 

The figure of Vision appears before the audience as the 
music plays the opening passages of Edvard Grieg's Ase's 
Death. 

Vision : Ye who walk confused through stormy days, 

Who question dazed where holds the pole-star fixed 
Its place mid all the surging sky, — to you 
I come, — I, Vision, gleaming flash of light 
From out the heavens revealing clear the truth 
Of these confounded and confounding times. 

Your streets, your houses, gardens seem the same ; 
The sun still shines; the rain falls as before; 
The hours and days and weeks pass sweetly on ; 
The seasons come and go. — What is this cry 
That rends the air, these shrieks that ring 
Forever in your ears, like tortured children! 
What this stillness as of unthought death 
That follows, — follows everything! Is this 
The same world! Or in nightmare do we stand 
Upon the brink of hell with Dante and 
With Milton, far below us livid see 
The horrors of the damned and hear the wails 
That rise from out the murky heat and stench 
Where utter cruelty insensate gloats 
Upon the promise in new fiendishness. 



Are you asleep, you ask! What should you do! 
For war's red mouldy claws clutch at your hearts 
And stretch their bony fingers toward your homes 
And gardens, quick to raze them as they did 
The homes and gardens over there. What means 
it all! 



Dear people, born and reared in liberty, 

Americans, each, every one, I come 

To rend a space the obscuring cloud, and show 

In figure and in language of a masque 

The truth in all its just proportions, — how 

America came into this death war ; 

And why she must come in, forsooth, or else 

America were not America. 

Rise then and sing, as darkness gathers round ! 

Join every voice in love and praise of her, 

Your Country ! Sing : ' ' My Country, 'tis of thee, 

Sweet Land of Liberty ! ' ' and at the end 

Let your full voices turn their love and praise 

Of country into humble prayer to Him, 

Your fathers ' God, Author of Liberty ! 

America is sung by the audience. 

Amekica. 



My country, 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of Liberty, 

Of thee I sing; 
Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the pilgrims' pride, 
From ev'ry mountain side 

Let Freedom ring! 

My native country, thee, 
Land of the noble, free, 

Thy name I love 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed hills; 
My heart with rapture thrills, 

Like that above. 

Let music swell the breeze, 
And ring from all the trees 

Sweet Freedom's song; 
Let mortal tongues awake; 
Let all that breathe partake; 
Let rocks their silence break, 

The sound prolong. 

Our fathers' God to Thee, 
Author of Liberty, 

To Thee we sing; 
Long may our land be bright 
With freedom's holy light; 
Protect us by Thy might, 

Great God, our King! 






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Vision : So sitting quietly in prayerful love 

For your great Mother, for America, 
Behold this vision of her entering 
Into the labor and the suffering of the war, 
And thereby to the glory of her duty 
Well fulfilled, wherein all you take part. 

The Masque. 

The place is an open glade on a high ground at the time 
of the setting of the sun. A giant oak spreads its branches 
out over the grassy level and over a great boulder at its 
foot, enveloping all within its shade in deep gloom, while 
its upper branches are still golden in the light of the sun. 
A roadway passes along in front leading up to the higher 
ground. 

The Orchestra sounds forth the opening passages of 
Edvard Grieg's Ase's Death, from the Peer Gynt Suite No. 
1. The strains thrill through the branches and leaves of 
the Tree with the passing breeze and echo over the grassy 
and wooded heights beyond. Nothing else is seen that is 
living. Then, as the music continues, there pours out upon 
the glade from the forest, a stream of misty beings, shadowy 
figures, in strange colors, blues and purples and mauves 
blended together, veiled, and with scarves floating behind 
them, as they run softly and swiftly over the lawns. 
Another stream comes up the roadway onto the higher 
ground. There uniting with the others they stream around 
the tree and sweep off again in ever changing lines. 

Finally the figures converge toward the back forming a 
lame, down which from the depths of the forest comes 
Mother Nature, old and bent, white-haired, yet of an imper- 
ishable stateliness. She is garbed in a long brown cloak, 
which cast over her head falls to her feet. She carries a 
long golden staff, on which she leans as she walks. The 
faces of all are covered and hidden by their veils except 
Mother Nature. Her face can be seen. Ttvo of the figures 
come with Mother Nature down to the Tree. As Mother 
Nature takes her seat upon the rock they stand on either 
side near her. The other figures stand in groups at the 
edge of the glade at some distance back from the Tree. 



First Shadow: Oh Mother Nature, this wide spreading 
tree 
Again you seek! 

Second Shadow : Again this mighty rock 

You make your throne ! 

First Shadow : But wherefore now this glade 

Have you sought out, and called these shadowy 

forms, 
These memories of former things, around 
You here? 

Mother Nature : To cheer the birth-pangs of the World. 
In places such as this still am I found. 

Second Shadow : The birth-pangs? 

First Shadow : Of the World? 

Mother Nature : Whole continents 

Are torn asunder. Nations tottering, leagues 
On leagues of sunny harvest fields are turned 
To drear, burnt, silent wastes untenanted. 
Races crash in conflict or cohere 
To gain new goals. But — New Freedom from this 

hell, 
A New World from this chaos shall be born. 

Again are heard the richly solemn strains of the Grieg 
music. Mother Nature sits absorbed in thought and con- 
templation, as are also the two tall figures who attend upon 
her. The Shadowy figures scattered through the glade 
move in slow and solemn measure to the music, agitated by 
the tragic emotions Mother Nature has aroused. When the 
music comes to a close, all is silent a moment; the Shadowy 
figures are still. Mother Nature rises from her seat and 
raises her hands clenched tight together the full length of 
her arms to heaven. Then letting them fall relaxed to her 
sides again, she speaks, breaking the silence with her clear 
and quiet voice. 

Mother Nature : This quiet glade ! To places such as this 
The souls of nations with the twilight come 
For soul refreshening. They come to pray 
Where purling brooks among the forest trees 



Dart on their way between the mossy rocks ; 
Neath high cathedral arches, where in silence 
Hallowed by years of love and sacrifice 
The glowing shafts of sunset light rain down 
Their heavenly benediction from above ; 
Or where in open field a mighty tree 
Uprears its branches to the blue-domed sky 
And slowly sailing contemplative clouds. 

Fikst Shadow : Here then the place ! 

Second Shadow : This tree whose roots deep down 

Search out the secrets of the earth, whose leaves 
Yet tremble in the slightest breath of heaven ; 
This rock, immovable, unchanged, and fixed. 

Mother Nature : The ever changing and the unchanging ! 
Lo, the epitome of life ! From this have all 
Things come ; to this all things return. 

First Shadow : And see, 

The sun draws near its setting. This the hour. 

Trumpet calls are heard as at a distance. Coming 
from among the trees off to the west appears America, in 
white, with golden girdle and golden liberty cap. She car- 
ries the American Flag and the Shield of the United States. 
Serious in manner, walking slowly, she comes down toward 
the Tree whereunder Mother Nature sits. 

America : Mother of all ! 

Mother Nature : My Daughter of the "West ! 

America : My soul is wrung with horror at the strife 
That blasts all Europe, devastates its fields, 
And strews its people, — dear dead men and women, 
Children even ! — corpses on the earth. I must — 
I will bring this dire conflict to an end. 
War ? I will end all war ! 

Mother Nature : Bring here her sword. 

America : I have foresworn the sword ! 

Mother Nature : To me then bring 

The sword. — There, on the tree, twixt heaven and 
earth. 

10 



At the first demand for the sword, one of the lesser 
Shadows goes and brings the sword, in its, sheath and with 
its belt, but stops at America's renunciation. At the second 
command the Shadow brings the sword down to the one of 
the Shadows near the Tree, who takes it and gives it to 
Mother Nature. Mother Nature quietly, imp erturb ably 
hangs the sword on the Tree and then quietly resumes her 
seat upon the rock. 

America : The Sword is War. The Sword is my Will 
Imposed without consent upon my peers. 
To my shores freely have all nations come ; 
And on my shores all freely have received 
An equal welcome and as equal rights. 
Here nothing partisan shall hold its place! 
America has mewed her mighty strength, 
America has won her signal power, 
Among the nations by her steadfast love 
Of Equal Justice and of Peace. World, 
My war is not on this side nor on that ; 
My war is war on War ! My power Peace ! — 
Peace irresistible! War! War! War! War! 
Peace like to mine will I to Europe bring ! 

Mother Nature po'mts down to the foot of the sloping 
road. The music plays "Rule Britannia". Up the road 
comes the figure of Britain, direct and earnest in manner, 
and intent on her purpose. She carries the British Flag on 
her right arm and wears her oval Shield on her left shoul- 
der; her sword sheathed hangs at her side. As she comes 
into view, she reaches out her arm in greeting and supplica- 
tion to Mother Nature. She mounts the steps and so comes 
up onto the high ground. 

Britain : Hail, Mother Nature ! 

Mother Nature: Hail, Imperial Daughter! 

Britain : My sons have rallied nobly to the cause ! 
Prom Canada, from India have they come, 
From far Australia and South Africa ! 
I held that honor was the under-rock 
On which the welfare of the World was built. 
My word I gave to Belgium : I have kept 

12 



My word. And all the British family 

Of nations justify me with their blood. 

The full resources of the Empire have 

We given to France and to her Allies, — men, 

And ships, munitions, credit. Belgium, France, 

In turn have stood like lions in the path 

Of Prussian bestiality, and stemmed 

The onsweep of the worse than Hunnish horde 

From the peaceful plains of Europe and the 

World, 
We trusted Prussian honor. We atone, 
And now step forward in our turn to take 
The brunt of conflict. We were unprepared. 
Oh the keen, malicious preparation of 
Those fifty German years ! Der Tag? Der Tag 
Has come! The Day of Prussia's downfall dawns 
At last ! In line of battle do we stand- 
France, Belgium, Eussia, Italy, and I, 
Roumania, Serbia, Portugal, Japan, 
To rescue the Right and Freedom of the World ! 
Oh Mother Nature, this is our prayer : the fight 
Is for the good of all,— let all take part ! 

With outstretched arms Britain appeals to Mother 
Nature, who with a gesture indicates the figure of America 
standing by. 

Mother Nature : America ! 

Britain turns and looks at America but says nothing. 
There is silence a moment. Then America turns her eyes 
full upon Britain, and quietly dispassionately addresses her. 

America : I grant you have your side. 

Britain: My side! 

America: You do not understand. I view 

This awful carnage from impartial ground, 
And only long to end it. Steuben, Schurz, 
DeKalb and Sigel, these are precious names 
To me. 

Britain : The life and liberty of all 

Depend upon the outcome ! 

13 



America : Ireland ? 

Britain : Yes. 

For Ireland are we fighting as for all. 
The Day of Freedom dawns ! — I will not plead 
With you to come, nor ask you. You will come 
Of your own will, your own high just accord. 

America : My voice shall ever be for Peace, 
My power exerted only to that end, 
Although my people shall not be forbid 
The rights of trade and commerce as of yore. — 
See here their grain, their cotton and their steel ! — 
But as Chief Neutral I will consecrate 
Myself, and wait and pray for that blest hour 
When I can lead the Armies of the World 
To Peace. 

Farmers and workmen bring in sheaves of wheat, bush- 
el-baskets of corn, bales of cotton, and workings of steel. 
America by a gesture turns them over to Britain, who with 
dignity acknowledges this material assistance in food and 
supplies. Mother Nature observes and still seated and 
leaning on her golden staff, by an inclination of her head 
indicates her approval. The men pass on out. 

The music interrupts, playing i( The Marseilles". The 
figure of France comes running in up the road. She is swift 
in every motion, intense and aroused. Her dress of blue is 
caught up a little short, so as not to impede her running. 
She is somewhat dishevelled. On her head she wears a red 
Liberty Cap; in her hand she carries the streaming Tricolor 
of France. All the Shadows on the higher ground urge for- 
ward, their arms in the air, to acclaim her with enthusiasm, 
and Britain and America extend their hands toward her in 
welcome as she runs up the road onto the higher level and 
throws herself on the ground at Mother Nature's feet and 
kisses her hand with passionate devotion. 

France : Mother ! 

Mother Nature lays her hand affectionately on France's 
head. 

France : Mother ! Mother ! 

14 



Mother Nature : Child ! My child ! 

France : They seek to crush my spirit. But the soul 
That feeds and grows on sacrifice can not 
Be crushed. Its spirit rises on its sufferings 
As on wings of fire to victory ! 

Mother Nature : Spirit invincible ! True-hearted France ! 

France : But we need help ! My men are in the trenches. 
All of them. My women work. My children too. 
My young boys and my men of middle age 
Are all gone, at the front. My wounded, men 
With but one eye, with but one arm or leg, 
Beg me to let them go back into service. 
Dear, noble sons ! No mother ever bore 
Their like ! My sons have done their part, and will, 
But three years have well nigh exhausted them, 
And we need help. No longer can I fill the place 
Of casualties. To you I come for help. 
My sister, Britain, — now henceforth beloved 
Eternally! — most valiantly has borne 
Us aid. Together do we fight one fight. 
But you, America, are young and strong, 
And thus far have done nothing. Help us ! Come ! 

America: France! France! You win my soul from out 
my breast ! 
The Land of Lafayette can always claim 
America's sincerest gratitude! 

France: Close-guarded then your soul forever shall 
Be safe within my heart of hearts! — Alas, 
My stricken ones ! My godlike poilus torn 
By shells ! My homeless mothers with their babes, 
Driven, battle-driven from the cottages 
And fields where tenderly they nursed and reared 
The future sons of France to bless the world 
With Light ! Their soldier fathers, wounded, from 
The hospitals, seek out their village homes. 
There is no village, only piles of ruins, 
No wife, no children. They, thin, worn and gray 
From deprivation, with the marshalled host 
Of toil are — somewhere, doing what they can. . 

15 



This now is France. But every one no less 
Holds firm the faith of France ! Yes, every one, — 
Each father, mother, child, — will give his last, 
Dark, clotted drop of blood to win the gift 
Of world-wide Liberty for all mankind ! 

America: The Bed Cross, France! Henceforward I will 
wear 
Its glowing sign of mercy on my heart ! 
Oh Mother, let your hand now send me forth 
With your unquestioning relief to all 
The warring armies ! Equally to all 
I go ! No uniform I recognize, 
But only suffering and need for help ! 
Oh France, the Flag of world-wide Liberty 
You bear ; and I of world-wide Mercy ! 

America goes over to Mother Nature, who rises from 
her seat on the rock and pins a large Bed Cross upon Amer- 
ica's breast. Then taking her head in both her hands, she 
bends America's head down to her and kisses her on the 
forehead. 

America : Bring millions for their succor and relief ! 
Bring soft white antiseptic gauze to bind 
The wounds of wounded men ! Bring cooling drink, 
And saving knife, and rest ! Drive on, drive on 
Your ambulances straight into the zone 
Of shell-fire to remove the dying thence ! 
Brancardieres and nurses, doctors, — brave 
The gray dead sight and sound and smell 
Of decomposing battle-fields to save 
The wounded who remain, insensible 
Or writhing in their helpless agony 
Upon the cruel flinty ground. Save those 
In Jesus ' name, who but for you are lost ! 
And all the unoffending victims of 
The war! — The starving thousands, send them 

food! 
The homeless, build them shelters, give them 

clothes ! 
With every toil-free moment work for them! 
Provide them with employ ! Restore their friends, 

16 



Or give them new ones in yourselves ! 
Yes, in all stricken, sorrow-palsied lives 
Breathe new the breath of life ! America, 
Give, give, give ! Wear the Red Cross ! Give ! 

Obedient to America's appeal up the road come Red 
Cross stretcher-bearers , nurses, doctors, with supplies of 
food and of clothing. They salute America as they pass on 
up the road, and she raises her hand in blessing over them, 
as also do Britain and France. 
Mother Nature : Speed on ! Speed on ! For some at best 

you are 
Too late ! Men now are dying you could save ; 
Women and children suffering you could 
Eelieve ! 

Mother Nature holds up her hand for silence. She 
listens. 

Mother Nature : I hear the guns of Italy, — 

And Russia, — of Roumania, — Serbia, — boom 
Along the line from Riga to Trieste, 
Pounding their way to freedom in the East, 
And echoing the incessant guns in France 
And Belgium in the West. 

There is a pause of complete silence, as Mother Nature 
continues to listen. Then a woman appears at the foot^of 
the sloping road. She comes in but a short distance and 
stops. France, England, America, all immediately raise 
their arms full length in honor of her. The Shadows step 
forward toward her and raise their arms in salutation. It 
is Belgium. She bows her head low in acknowledgment 
and then comes straight up the bank to Mother Nature, 
while England, France and America dip their flags in sa- 
lute. Belgium is a thin, spare woman. Her face is marked 
with noble strength and with suffering endured. She is 
simply draped in rusty black. In her right hand she clutches 
the torn flag of Belgium, its staff broken off short. As she 
comes up onto the higher ground, Mother Nature rises, steps 
forward and silently embraces her. As Mother Nature re- 
sumes her seat, Belgium stands still and tense a moment 
and then bows her head again very low and long in ack- 

18 



nowledgment of the salute of the Nations. She then takes 
her place by Mother Nature, standing very close to her and 
holding her hand tight in her left hand. She is almost 
motionless. 

Belgium : My citizens deported, — shot. My girls, — 
Even my little girls, — outraged, enslaved, 
And murdered. Why? Because I challenged 

Might, 
By standing in the way, compelled the brute 
To unmask. But I would do the same again, 
If it again were to be done, to warn 
The human race against so gross a fiend 
As I have been exposed to these three years. 

There is silence a moment. Then again the Nations 
dip their flags in salute, and the Shadows raise their arms 
in salutation. Mother Nature again rises and embraces 
Belgium, kisses her, and blesses her. Belgium stands si- 
lently, clutching her torn Flag to her breast. 

America : Exalted in your silence and your strength, 
The pale reproaches of your iron face ! 

The Orchestra again plays the Grieg music. While 
this still continues, there is a motion among the Shadows 
toward the side whither the Red Cross aid has gone. The 
two Shadows with Mother Nature themselves go over 
thither. One of the lesser Shadows brings in a circular life- 
preserver marked with the name, Lusitania. She gives it 
to one of the chief Shadows, who brings it over to Mother 
Nature and the Nations. America especially is horrified. 
Then another brings in a Red Cross flag, wet and torn and 
with a hole through which a shell has passed, and a broken 
piece of oar. These also are brought over to Mother Na- 
ture. The righteous anger of the Nations is increased and 
reflected in the emotions of the Shadows. Britain and 
France silently wait for America to speak. America is 
aroused to the extreme of fury and indignation. She stares 
dumb at the relics. Belgium alone is unperturbed. She 
merely inclines her head once or twice to indicate that she 
has seen but long since is used to wanton horrors such as 
these. 

19 



Ameeica: Give me the Sword! Am I a woman! What? 
Shall I stand by and see my loved ones drowned, 
The wounded slaughtered 1 War ? This is not war ! 
This is the purging of the world ! The Sword ! 
The Sword is my Will irrevokably set 
Against all hideous rapine, murder, lust, 
Blood-draining arrogance ! Give me the Sword ! 

Mother Natuee: At last you stand full woman and my 
child, 
Full glorious as your name, — America! 

As she speaks the name of America, Mother Nature 
rises from her seat upon the rock and takes the sword down 
from the tree. She starts to buckle the belt around Amer- 
ica's waist. 

Ameeica : The sword alone ! I shall not want the sheath. 

Mother Nature draws the sword out of its sheath and 
gives the belt and scabbard to one of the Shadows. Amer- 
ica takes the sword and stands gazing at it in her hand. 

Britain : Now doubly strong in Honor, Freedom saved ! 
The day approaches when in federate league 
All peoples, tongues, and races shall unite 
For mutual welfare and for perfect peace ! 
No loathsome viper shall henceforth abuse 
The privilege of peace and liberty 
To fire the harvests on a million farms, 
To pour red murder and destruction through 
The busy streets of countless thriving towns, 
And plot his dire aggrandizement above 
The equal glory of a peace-blest world ! 

Feance : Oh Heart of Great America, all France 
Salutes you as you take the sword, 
And gives you grateful welcome to her shores ! 

Belgium simply kisses the American Flag and utters 
the one word: — 

Belgium : America ! 

America, taking the sword from Mother Nature by the 
hilt, raises the sword as in salute before her face, the blade 

20 



pointing up, and hisses the cross of the hilt; she then brings 
it straight down before her. 

America : In the Name of God, I choose ! 

I choose to die, so may I serve the right, 
And help to save the loveliness of earth 
To future days! 

Mother Nature raises her hands in blessing over 
America. 

Mother Nature : America, the Stars 

Fight with you, and the Seas, and all the Earth ! 
Go ! Vietory brings Peace ! 

All : America ! 

America : I go ! 

America raises her flag high in the air. The music 
bursts forth in The Star Spangled Banner. At the same 
time up the sloping roadway come soldiers in ~khdki, sailors, 
aviators, marching in massed column with recruits and vol- 
unteers in civilian clothes, farmers and workmen, Red Cross 
nurses and stretcher-bearers mingled with the others. The 
column marches up onto the higher ground saluting Amer- 
ica as they pass, and on off beyond to the front. Britain, 
France and Belgium, followed by the Shadows, go off with 
■ them, and the procession closes with a bank of color. Only 
America, Mother Nature, and the two attendant Shadows 
remain as The Star Spangled Banner comes to an end. 
America stands in meditation alone. 

America: Gone. — They are gone. — Gone. Blood of my 
blood, 
Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, — they are gone. 
But shall they return 1 ? 

The figure of Sacrifice comes in from the direction 
whither the soldiers have gone. 

Sacrifice : Now have you given your all ; 

Now have you given yourself. 

America : I have— my all. 

Oh Sacrifice, my utter self I give. 

21 



Saceifice : Wherefore the holy joy that hovering waits 
To whirl you transcendentally away 
Above all suffering, all regret and pain ; — 
Since now, for all your utmost have you given, 
And giving all become at least therein 
Like God Himself. 

The figure of Vision appears a short distance behind 
them, near Mother Nature. 

America : Over their marching lines, 

Over their valiant souls, my brooding soul 
Sweeps on, leading them to victory. 
And nerving them for that sacrifice whereby 
They gain the blessedness that I have gained 
By giving all. 

Vision : So through the endless air, 

Forever, through the vast of Time and Space 
With your triumphant soul they march, they 

march, 
The deathless host invincible of those 
Who have given all. Rejoice, America, 
Rejoice ! Your sons attain the height of life's 
Divine completeness! 

Saceifice : Vision, — it is he. 

America : Oh Vision, grant me clearer sight ! 

Vision: With joy 

And holy gratitude praise bounteous Heaven ! 
So shall you see their glorious triumphing 
Who stand upon the summit of their lives, 
The purposes of God's eternal plans 
Wide-spread behold, and dying know they serve 
To their full measure perfectly His ends ! 
A short hour more or less, — what is it 
In the meagre year's duration of their days? 
But that high consecration that shall grasp 
The whole of life for all mankind, — itself 
Is victory ! 

America kneels between Sacrifice and Vision and offers 
her prayer of thanksgiving. 

22 



America : Through all the ages hast Thou granted us 
The boon to work with Thee, and now again 
In this tremendous crisis of the world 
Thou dost allow us, God, to take a part 
In stablishing wide, fair and strong the love 
And freedom of Thy Will ! We thank Thee, God ! 
Thine own great Life of Immortality, 
Whereof is Liberty a passing gleam 
Across our world, floods all around our lives ! 
Lo, Thy full Sunlight pours athwart the sky ! 
So, with the brave and true of all the past 
We thank Thee ! We thank Thee with the Mariner 
Who pierced the unknown seas; we thank Thee 
With the Puritan who sought these rugged shores 
To worship Thee with conscience free, unshackled ; 
We thank Thee with the Pioneer who sowed 
The west with homes and spread this nation 
Cross the continent ! We thank Thee with all those 
Who died to keep the nation one ! And now 
We thank Thee, Father, Oh Most Glorious God, 
That Thou to us hast given it to be 
An instrument in Thine Almighty Hand 
With Belgium, France, and Britain and the rest! 
Oh God, my sons have gone. With joy and with 

thanksgiving 
I give them, — and myself ! 

Mother Nature rises from her seat and raises her hand 
over the audience as if pronouncing a benediction. 

Mother Nature : The sunset falls on all the former world ; 
Now comes the night that shall all things restore ! 
For with the morning on a Day of Peace 
And on a New World shall the sun arise ! 

Again the orchestra plays the Grieg music. While the 
richly solemn strains are sounding through the air, Amer- 
ica rises from her knees and accompanied by Sacrifice and 
Vision goes out in the same direction whither the soldiers 
have gone, and Mother Nature attended by the tivo Shadows 
slowly crosses the grassy glade and disappears from view: 

23 



The Epilogue. 

The figure of Sacrifice returns to the glade and ad- 
dresses the audience. 

Sacrifice : Clearly the truth has Vision shown you here. 

Dear friends, you are yourselves America, 
Whom you have seen in masque here figured forth. 
These are your boys, dear friends, who march, who 

march 
To bear their part with those of other flags 
In rescue of the freedom of the world. 
Now all have gone, 

And even this symbolic dream, this masque, 
Has vanished. All are gone, save I alone, — 
I, Sacrifice. For I abide, 
Though all else leave you, I remain. 

But greet me not with melancholy face : 

I am not Loss, or Deprivation, — No ! 

See ! In my very name of Sacrifice 

My glorious promise written fair and plain ! 

For all things whatsoever that I touch 

I make them holy. In that straight though dim 

And narrow corridor I live that leads 

Directly to the Great White Throne of God, 

I purify all those who come my way 

To make them ready for His mighty Love. 

And as I send them on, on up the high 

Steps leading toward the Throne, I crown them ! 

I crown them with the greatest joy 

That human heart can know ! 

Then take me to your hearts to live with you ! 

My joy shall answer yours ! Together shall we be 

Invincible ! Arise ! I go with you 

To fight, to strive, to work, to win the war ! 

And as you go, on, on, let every one 

From out the darkness of these stormy days 

Sing, as at first in battle night 'twas sung, 

The anthem of the Starry Flag ! Arise ! 

Sing, sing its rippling stripes and gleaming stars 

Upon their holy way to victory ! 

24 



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The Star Spangled Banner is sung by the audience. 
The Stab Spangled Bannek. 

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, 

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, 
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, 
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? 
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, 
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. 
Oh, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave, 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 

Oh, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand 

Between their loved home and grim war's desolation, 
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land 
Praise the Power that has made and preserved us a nation. 
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!" 
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 



26 



The Sword of America 

PRODUCED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE RED CROSS, UNDER THE 

DIRECTION OP THE AUTHOR BY THE COURTESY OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, IN THE AUDITORIUM OF 

THE SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL 

AT SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, 

APRIL TWENTY-FOURTH AND TWENTY-FIFTH, NINETEEN HUNDRED 

EIGHTEEN. 



CAST. 

Mother Nature Miss Lulu Wright 

Attendant Shadows \ ^ ss £ race B enscoter 

} Miss Charlotte Pasfield 

America _ — Miss Florence Lowden 

Bmtain Miss Christine Brown 

France _...„ Miss Louise Stericker 

Belgium _ _...Miss Lucy Bates 

Vision Rev. Lester Leake Riley 

Sacrifice „ Hon. James M. Graham 

Shadows— Mildred Moore, Ada Thurston, Lillian Swift, 
Wilburna Ayers, Ruth Hill, Eloise Lloyd, Faith Kin- 
caid, Bessie Ruckel, Sadie Greenberg, Margaret Potter, 
Luella Harnsberger, Lillyon Knox, Mary Parsons 
Villa Reid, Edna Atkins, Helen Gort, Beatrice Shillite, 
Hilda Vondenberg, Mildred Hill, Anne Thompson, Vic- 
toria Rinck, Helen MacDonald, Leona White, Jose- 
phine Gorman. 

Farmers and Industrial Workers— Russel Myers, Cayton 
Blair, Deon Burton, Harold Chapman, Clarence Gra- 
ham, Fred Greer, James McAnulty, Everett Kuhns, 
Geo. MacLennon, Harold McCarty, Dayton McClain, 
Wm. Murray, Earl Tomilson, Thos. Ferns. 

Red Cross Doctors— Dr. C. A. Frazee, Dr. Don Deal, Dr. 
Ogden Monroe, Dr. C. N. Bowcock, Dr. Fred P. Cow- 
din, Dr. A. E. Converse. 

Red Cross Nurses— Mrs. Arthur FitzGerald, Mrs. Robert 
McClure, Mrs. George T. Palmer, Miss Elberta Smith, 
Miss Lucy C. Williams, Miss Hazel Smith, Miss Imogen 

27 



Smith, Miss Mary Temple Smith, Miss Frances Easley, 
Miss Ellen Barnes, Miss Mary J. Heitman, Miss Lena 
E. Boswell, Miss Josephine Monroe. 

Soldiers and Volunteer: — Company A, Sixth Infantry, 
Illinois Militia Reserve, Frank R. Simmons, Captain. 
Unit No. 1, Volunteer Training Corps, Hal M. Smith, 
Captain. 

The Costumes were designed by Mrs. William Chauncy 
Langdon. 

Music — Springfield High School Orchestra augmented by 
local musicians, under the Direction of Miss Frances 
B. Gardiner. 

The Shadow Dances — Directed by Miss Grace E. Lomelino. 

The Scenery was loaned by the Chatterton Opera House. 

MANAGEMENT— GENERAL 

Centennial Celebration Committee of Sangamon County 
Mr. C. L. Conkling, Chairman 
Mr. Wm. H. Conkling, Secretary 

Executive Committee — Mrs. V. Y. Dallman, James M. 

Graham, Logan Hay, H. C. Lanphier, Mrs. Geo. T. 

Palmer, J. Frank Prather. 
R. C. Lanphier Springfield Commercial Assn. 

Dr. C. A. Frazee Springfield Rotary Club 

Ira B. Blackstock Springfield Optimist Club 

Major B. Wilson Grand Army of the Republic 

Logan Hay Lincoln Centennial Association 

Chas. T. Bauman City of Springfield 

Prof. I. M. Allen City Schools 

Geo. Pasfield Illinois Centennial Association 

R. E. Woodmansee Federation of Labor 

A. D. Stevens Springfield City Club 

Mrs. Porter Paddock Springfield Woman's Club 

Mrs. Geo. T. Palmer Springfield Improvement League 
Miss Elberta Smith Amateur Musical Club 

J. F. Macpherson City Planning Comm., S. C. A. 

Harry W. Nickey Board of Supervisors 

28 



Harlington Wood 
H. 0. McGrue 
Mrs. Burton M. Reid 
H. A. Dirksen 
Col. R. J. Shand 
Hugh S. Magill, Jr., 



Board of Supervisors 
Board of Supervisors 
Springfield Art Association 
Knights of Columbus 
Masonic Orders of City- 
Director Illinois Centennial Comm. 



Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber, Secretary 111. Centennial Comm. 



Patronesses for Masque. 



MRS. FRANK O. LOWDEN MRS. 

MRS. J OTIS HUMPHREY MRS. 
MRS. JESSIE PALMER WEBER MRS. 

MRS. CLINTON L. CONKLING MRS. 

MRS. I. M. ALLEN MRS. 

MRS. HUGH S. MAGILL, JR. MRS. 

MRS. GEORGE PASFIELD MRS. 

MRS. HARRIS HICKOX MRS. 

MRS. GEO. F. STERICKER MRS. 

MRS. GEO. BATES. MRS. 

MRS. B. F. FERGUSON MRS. 

MISS ALICE BUNN MRS. 

MRS. C. C. BROWN MRS. 

MRS. H. W. CLENDENIN MRS. 

MRS. J. DAVID STERN MRS. 

MRS. S. LEIGH CALL MRS. 

MRS. H. C. ETTINGER MRS. 

MRS. HUGH MORRISON MRS. 

MRS. S. J. HANES MRS. 

MRS. ALBERT MYERS MRS. 

MISS SUSAN WILCOX MRS. 

MRS. MOSES SALZENSTEIN MRS. 

MRS. ERNEST HELMLE MRS. 

MRS. JAMES M. GRAHAM MRS. 

MRS. E. LILIENSTEIN MRS. 

MISS ELBERTA SMITH MRS. 

MRS. WM. H. CONKLING MRS. 

MRS. PORTER PADDOCK MRS. 

MRS. BURTON REID MRS. 

MRS. JOHN H. LLOYD MRS. 

MRS. G. L. HARNSBERGER MRS. 

MRS. FRED W. POTTER MRS. 

MRS. ROY W. IDE MRS. 

MRS. HENRY A. DIRKSEN MRS. 

MRS. J. F. MACPHERSON MRS. 



ROBT. C. LANPHIER 
LOGAN HAY 
A. D. STEVENS 
WILLIS SPAULDING 
J. EMIL SMITH 
J. C. JOHNSTON 
GEO REISCH, JR. 
JEROME O'CONNELL 
OSCAR A. BECKER 
ROBERT TROXELL 
FRANK SIMMONS 
JOHN G. FRIEDMEYER 
A. R. CROOK 
P. G. MATHENY 
GEO. B. STADDEN 
LATHAM T. SOUTHER 
J. R. B. VANCLEAVE 
S. A. BRADLEY 
P. B. WARREN 
EUGENE FAYART 

F. G. BLAIR 

DE WITT SMITH 
PASCAL HATCH 
FRANK S. DICKSON 

G. T. PALMER 
VINCENT DALLMAN 
THOMAS REES 

C. J. DOYLE 
R. J. OGLESBY 
ALBERT S. EDWARDS 
GEO. STADDEN 
W. R. VREDENBURGH 
G. H. SHERWOOD 
LOUIS L. EMMERSON 
JOHN R. TANNER 



SPECIAL COMMITTEES. 

General Manager, The Sword of America, Mr. I. M. Allen 

Author and Director, The Sword of America, 

Mr. William Chauncy Langdon 

Stage Managers — 

Mr. Clarence Bennett and Mr. Calvin White. 



29 



Publicity — 

Advertising Committee — Mr. W. B. Robinson, Chairman ; 
Mr. John G. Keplinger, Mr. Robert Hatcher, Mr. W. A. 
Townsend. 

Outside Newspapers — Mr. H. 0. Crews. 

Local Newspapers — Mr. Geo. Clendenin, Mr. Leigh Call, 
Miss Nellie Brown Duff, Mr. R. M. Bacon. 

Auditorium and Tickets — Mr. Geo. C. Hickox, Mr. Wm. 
D. Cave. 



30 



THE SWORD OF AMERICA 

Was produced for the benefit of the Red Cross, under the direction of the 

author, and with the co-operation of the Illinois 

Drama Federation, in the 

AUDITORIUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

At TJroana-Champaign 

THANKSGIVING NIGHT, NOVEMBER 29, 1917. 

Mother Nature Mrs. Thomas Arkle Clark 

Attendant Shadows Vivian Kay and Merle Turner 

America Severina Elaine Nelson 

Britain Lois Marie Scott 

France Mrs. Franklin William Scott 

Sacrifice Albert Woodward Jamison 

Vision Gerald Darfield Stopp 

Shadows — Eunice Badger, Dorothy Bahe, Harriet Jean Bower, Goldia 
Butzer, Eleanor Corman, Victoria Frederick, Mildred Gage, Edith 
Heizer, Opal Herriott, Flora E. Hottes, Mildred Knapheide, Jane Marie 
Leicksensing, Arlene Lumley, Dorothy Reeves, Ruth Reeves, Agnes 
Sloan, Madelene Sloan, Ethel Stoltey, Charlotte Ward, Charlotte 
Welch. 

Red Cross Nurses — Emily Elizabeth Bayley, Elizabeth Blakeslee, Frances 
Brooks, Frona Marguerite Brooks, Helen Laura Doocy, Erna Claire 
Goldschmidt, Marcelle Vere Laval, Beulah Wise Prante, Mildred Sykes 
Whitford, Frances Louise Withrow. 

Farmers, Miners, and Steel Workers — T. H. Armstrong, C. E. Barnes, 
D. F. Bernstein, F. F. Carny, W. K. Clifford, W. H. Eichorn, J. Z. 
Frazier, T. B. Manny, H. P. Owen, A. K. Sanderson, E. H. Stevenson, 
D. P. Ward. 

Soldiers and Volunteers — Arthur H. Bodenschatz, M. E. Brame, F. L. 
Bruder, Robert J. Christ, M. C. Crew, Glenn Dunbar, Werder Hegan, 
B. G. Hatch, J. R. Johnson, Don Mayhue, Fred G. Maurer, Donald D. 
McGuire, Louis McMillan, J. B. McCorkle, Willard Pettit, H. A. Powell, 
J. L. Reed, J. L. ReVeal, G. F. Stamm, George C. Sullivan, Paul 
Walker. 

The Music was under the direction of J. Lawrence Erb, F.A.G.O., and 
Edson W. Morphy; Fay W. Swartz, Rehearsal Accompanist. 

The Costumes were designed by Mrs. William Chauncy Langdon. 

The Rhythmic Motion of the Shadows was devised by Miss Verna Brooks 
and Miss Anna Lue Hughitt. 

The Scenery was lent by A. J. Duncan of the Orpheum Theatre, Cham- 
paign. 

The Management was conducted by a Committee appointed by President 
Edmund J. James, consisting of Francis Keese Wynkoop Drury, Wil- 
liam Chauncy Langdon, and Rex. R. Thompson, Manager. 



31 



